This rule revises certain regulations of the Department of Justice (the “Department”) that govern the Pardon Attorney. The rule conforms the regulations to current practice, under which the Pardon Attorney is subject to the direction of, and submits recommendations in clemency cases through, the Deputy Attorney General.

2014-08-28; vol. 79 # 167 - Thursday, August 28, 2014

79 FR 51254 - Paroling, Recommitting, and Supervising Federal Prisoners: Prisoners Serving Sentences Under the United States and District of Columbia Codes

The United States Parole Commission is revising its rules describing the conditions of release set for persons on supervision and the procedures used to impose and modify the conditions. The revision is part of our ongoing effort to make our rules easier to understand for those persons affected by the rules and other interested persons and organizations. We are also adding new procedures for imposing special conditions for sex offenders, and filling a gap left by an earlier rule change in 2003 regarding the administrative appeals that may be filed by District of Columbia offenders on supervised release.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice is amending its regulation defining “Spouse” for purposes of implementing the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) Act, associated statutes, and Program. Prior to the Supreme Court invalidating section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) DOMA prevented OJP from recognizing same-sex surviving spouses for the purposes of awarding PSOB Act benefits. As amended, the final regulation recognizes as a spouse, for purposes of the PSOB program, a person who lawfully enters into a marriage in one jurisdiction, even when living in another jurisdiction, and without regard to the law of the other jurisdiction.

In accordance with section 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the Department of Justice is adjusting for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Civil Rights Division.

In accordance with section 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the Department of Justice is adjusting for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Civil Rights Division.

Effective Date: This rule is effective March 4, 2014. Applicability Date: This delegation became operative on February 25, 2014, the date that it was issued by the Attorney General.

28 CFR Part 0

Summary

The Department of Justice is amending its regulations to extend the trial period during which the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) may exercise, for an additional one-year period following the effective date of this rule, the authority under the United States Code to seize and administratively forfeit property involved in controlled substance offenses. The Attorney General has determined that the trial period that ends on February 25, 2014, should be extended for another year to give ATF more time to refine its processes, fully hire and train all necessary staff, and further demonstrate the effectiveness of the delegation in the investigation of violent crimes involving firearms.

2014-02-27; vol. 79 # 39 - Thursday, February 27, 2014

79 FR 10989 - Policy Regarding Obtaining Information From, or Records of, Members of the News Media; and Regarding Questioning, Arresting, or Charging Members of the News Media

This rule amends the policy of the Department of Justice regarding the use of subpoenas, certain court orders, and search warrants, to obtain information from, or records of, members of the news media. The rule also amends the Department's policy regarding questioning, arresting, or charging members of the news media.

79 FR 10989 - Policy Regarding Obtaining Information From, or Records of, Members of the News Media; and Regarding Questioning, Arresting, or Charging Members of the News Media

This rule amends the policy of the Department of Justice regarding the use of subpoenas, certain court orders, and search warrants, to obtain information from, or records of, members of the news media. The rule also amends the Department's policy regarding questioning, arresting, or charging members of the news media.

The Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) published a final rule in the Federal Register on November 21, 2013, which added a new section to the Department's Privacy Act exemption regulations to exempt two OCDETF systems of records from certain subsections of the Privacy Act. The final text of the rule incorrectly referred to exempted “subsections” of the Privacy Act as “paragraphs” of the new section. This document corrects the final rule by revising the new section.

This rule will be effective December 5, 2013. Written comments must be postmarked and electronic comments must be submitted on or before February 3, 2014. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before that date. The electronic Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) will accept comments until Midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.

28 CFR Part 571

Summary

The Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) changes its regulations on compassionate release, to provide that when considering an inmate for reduction in sentence, the General Counsel will solicit the opinion of the United States Attorney in the district in which the inmate was sentenced; and the final decision is subject to the general supervision and direction of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.

The Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) amends its Privacy Act regulations for two Privacy Act systems of records previously entitled the “Drug Enforcement Task Force Evaluation and Reporting System,” JUSTICE/DAG-003, and the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center System,” JUSTICE/CRM-028. These amendments reflect a recent reorganization of the Department establishing the Executive Office for OCDETF as a separate DOJ component, and transferring responsibility for these systems from the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) and the Criminal Division to this component. In light of this departmental reorganization, JUSTICE/DAG-003 has been renumbered to JUSTICE/OCDETF-001 and renamed as the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Management Information System (OCDETF MIS),” and JUSTICE/CRM-028 has been renumbered to JUSTICE/OCDETF-002 while retaining the same name. When under the responsibility of ODAG and the Criminal Division, these systems were exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 by exemptions placed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections containing exemptions for ODAG's and the Criminal Division's Privacy Act systems. These amendments remove references to these systems from the CFR sections for ODAG and Criminal Division exemptions and add a new section for OCDETF exemptions, which continues comparable exemptions for these systems in order to avoid interference with the law enforcement functions and responsibilities of the Executive office for OCDETF.

This rule revises the United States Marshals Service fees to reflect current costs to the United States Marshals Service for service of process in federal court proceedings. A proposed rule with invitation to comment was published in the Federal Register on April 12,2013, at 78 FR 21862. Only one comment was received within the 60-day comment period and that comment supported adoption of the rule. Accordingly, the proposed rule is finalized without change.

Chapter 154 of title 28, United States Code, provides special procedures for Federal habeas corpus review of cases brought by indigent prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. These special procedures are available to States that the Attorney General has certified as having established mechanisms for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State postconviction proceedings brought by such prisoners, and as providing standards of competency for the appointment of counsel in these proceedings. This rule sets forth the regulations for the certification procedure.

This rule removes the regulations for the STOP Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grant Program, because the Program no longer exists, and the Grants to Combat Violent Crimes Against Women on Campuses Program, because the regulations are no longer required and are unnecessary.

Title 28 published on 2013-07-01

The following are ALL rules, proposed rules, and notices (chronologically) published in the Federal Register relating to Title 28after this date.

This rule revises certain regulations of the Department of Justice (the “Department”) that govern the Pardon Attorney. The rule conforms the regulations to current practice, under which the Pardon Attorney is subject to the direction of, and submits recommendations in clemency cases through, the Deputy Attorney General.

2014-09-08; vol. 79 # 173 - Monday, September 8, 2014

79 FR 53146 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations—Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description

For the proposed rule published on August 1, 2014 (79 FR 44976), the comment period is extended. All comments must be received by December 1, 2014.

28 CFR Part 36

Summary

On August 1, 2014, the Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register in order to propose amendments to its Americans with Disabilities Act title III regulation to require the provision of closed movie captioning and audio description to give persons with hearing and vision disabilities access to movies. The comment period is scheduled to close on September 30, 2014. The Department of Justice is extending the comment period until December 1, 2014 in order to provide additional time for the public to prepare comments.

2014-08-28; vol. 79 # 167 - Thursday, August 28, 2014

79 FR 51254 - Paroling, Recommitting, and Supervising Federal Prisoners: Prisoners Serving Sentences Under the United States and District of Columbia Codes

The United States Parole Commission is revising its rules describing the conditions of release set for persons on supervision and the procedures used to impose and modify the conditions. The revision is part of our ongoing effort to make our rules easier to understand for those persons affected by the rules and other interested persons and organizations. We are also adding new procedures for imposing special conditions for sex offenders, and filling a gap left by an earlier rule change in 2003 regarding the administrative appeals that may be filed by District of Columbia offenders on supervised release.

2014-08-14; vol. 79 # 157 - Thursday, August 14, 2014

79 FR 47603 - Paroling, Recommitting and Supervising Federal Prisoners Prisoners Serving Sentences Under the United States and District of Columbia Codes

The United States Parole Commission proposes to revise its rules pertaining to decisions to revoke terms of supervision without a hearing. Specifically, we propose a rule that would allow a releasee charged with only administrative violations or specifically identified misdemeanor crimes to apply for a prison sanction of 8 months or less. If a releasee qualifies and applies for a sanction under this section, the Commission may approve a revocation decision that includes no more than 8 months of imprisonment without using its normal guidelines for decision-making.

This rule proposes to amend the regulations for the Grants To Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (Arrest Program) to incorporate statutory changes, make minor technical corrections, and streamline existing regulations to reduce repetition of statutory language. This rule would also amend the regulations to clarify that existing regulations on grant-related procedures continue to apply to grants made by the Office on Violence Against Women.

This rule proposes to amend the regulations for the Grants To Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (Arrest Program) to incorporate statutory changes, make minor technical corrections, and streamline existing regulations to reduce repetition of statutory language. This rule would also amend the regulations to clarify that existing regulations on grant-related procedures continue to apply to grants made by the Office on Violence Against Women.

2014-08-01; vol. 79 # 148 - Friday, August 1, 2014

79 FR 44976 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations—Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description

The Department invites written comments from members of the public. Written comments must be postmarked and electronic comments must be submitted on or before September 30, 2014. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before that date. The electronic Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) will accept comments until midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.

28 CFR Part 36

Summary

The Department of Justice (Department) is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in order to propose amendments to its regulation for title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which covers public accommodations and commercial facilities, including movie theaters. The Department is proposing to explicitly require movie theaters to exhibit movies with closed captioning and audio description at all times and for all showings whenever movies are produced, distributed, or otherwise made available with captioning and audio description unless to do so would result in an undue burden or fundamental alteration. The Department is also proposing to require movie theaters to have a certain number of individual closed captioning and audio description devices unless to do so would result in an undue burden or fundamental alteration. The Department is proposing a six-month compliance date for movie theaters' digital movie screens and is seeking public comment on whether it should adopt a four-year compliance date for movie theaters' analog movie screens or should defer rulemaking on analog screens until a later date.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice is amending its regulation defining “Spouse” for purposes of implementing the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) Act, associated statutes, and Program. Prior to the Supreme Court invalidating section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) DOMA prevented OJP from recognizing same-sex surviving spouses for the purposes of awarding PSOB Act benefits. As amended, the final regulation recognizes as a spouse, for purposes of the PSOB program, a person who lawfully enters into a marriage in one jurisdiction, even when living in another jurisdiction, and without regard to the law of the other jurisdiction.

In accordance with section 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the Department of Justice is adjusting for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Civil Rights Division.

In accordance with section 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the Department of Justice is adjusting for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Civil Rights Division.

Written comments must be postmarked and electronic comments must be submitted on or before March 25, 2014. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before that date. The electronic Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) will accept comments until Midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.

28 CFR Part 540

Summary

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) reopens the comment period of the proposed rule published on April 6, 2010 (75 FR 17324) which proposed to establish and describe Communication Management Units (CMUs) by regulation. We now reopen the comment period for fifteen (15) additional days in order to allow inmates and interested parties additional opportunity to comment.

Written comments must be postmarked and electronic comments must be submitted on or before April 4, 2014. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before that date. The electronic Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) will accept comments until Midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.

28 CFR Part 32

Summary

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice proposes this rule to amend the regulation that implements the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) Act and associated statutes. Generally speaking, these laws provide financial support to certain public safety officers, or their survivors and families, when such officers die, or become permanently and totally disabled, as a result of line-of-duty injuries, or when they die of heart attacks or strokes sustained within statutorily-specified timeframes of engaging or participating in certain line-of-duty activity. The proposed rule would amend the implementing regulation in order to change the definition of “Spouse.”

Effective Date: This rule is effective March 4, 2014. Applicability Date: This delegation became operative on February 25, 2014, the date that it was issued by the Attorney General.

28 CFR Part 0

Summary

The Department of Justice is amending its regulations to extend the trial period during which the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) may exercise, for an additional one-year period following the effective date of this rule, the authority under the United States Code to seize and administratively forfeit property involved in controlled substance offenses. The Attorney General has determined that the trial period that ends on February 25, 2014, should be extended for another year to give ATF more time to refine its processes, fully hire and train all necessary staff, and further demonstrate the effectiveness of the delegation in the investigation of violent crimes involving firearms.

2014-02-27; vol. 79 # 39 - Thursday, February 27, 2014

79 FR 10989 - Policy Regarding Obtaining Information From, or Records of, Members of the News Media; and Regarding Questioning, Arresting, or Charging Members of the News Media

This rule amends the policy of the Department of Justice regarding the use of subpoenas, certain court orders, and search warrants, to obtain information from, or records of, members of the news media. The rule also amends the Department's policy regarding questioning, arresting, or charging members of the news media.

79 FR 10989 - Policy Regarding Obtaining Information From, or Records of, Members of the News Media; and Regarding Questioning, Arresting, or Charging Members of the News Media

This rule amends the policy of the Department of Justice regarding the use of subpoenas, certain court orders, and search warrants, to obtain information from, or records of, members of the news media. The rule also amends the Department's policy regarding questioning, arresting, or charging members of the news media.

2014-02-14; vol. 79 # 31 - Friday, February 14, 2014

79 FR 8910 - Searches of Housing Units, Inmates, and Inmate Work Areas: Use of X-ray Devices—Clarification of Terminology

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) proposes to clarify that body imaging search devices are “electronic search devices” for routine or random use in searching inmates, and are distinguished from medical x-ray devices, which require the inmate's consent, or Regional Director approval, for use as search devices.

2014-01-30; vol. 79 # 20 - Thursday, January 30, 2014

79 FR 4839 - Office of the Attorney General; Amendment of Americans with Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations to Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008

The Department of Justice (Department) is issuing this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations in order to incorporate the statutory changes to the ADA set forth in the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA Amendments Act or the Act), which took effect on January 1, 2009. Congress enacted the ADA Amendments Act in order to revise the ADA definition of “disability” and to ensure that the definition is broadly construed and applied without extensive analysis. In this NPRM, the Department is proposing to add new sections to its title II and title III ADA regulations at 28 CFR parts 35 and 36, respectively, to provide detailed definitions of “disability” and to make consistent changes in other sections of the regulations. The ADA Amendments Act authorizes the Attorney General to issue regulations consistent with the Act that implement the definitions of “disability” in sections 3 and 4 of the Act, including the rules of construction set forth in section 3. The Department invites written comments from members of the public on this proposed rule.

79 FR 4839 - Office of the Attorney General; Amendment of Americans with Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations to Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008

The Department of Justice (Department) is issuing this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations in order to incorporate the statutory changes to the ADA set forth in the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA Amendments Act or the Act), which took effect on January 1, 2009. Congress enacted the ADA Amendments Act in order to revise the ADA definition of “disability” and to ensure that the definition is broadly construed and applied without extensive analysis. In this NPRM, the Department is proposing to add new sections to its title II and title III ADA regulations at 28 CFR parts 35 and 36, respectively, to provide detailed definitions of “disability” and to make consistent changes in other sections of the regulations. The ADA Amendments Act authorizes the Attorney General to issue regulations consistent with the Act that implement the definitions of “disability” in sections 3 and 4 of the Act, including the rules of construction set forth in section 3. The Department invites written comments from members of the public on this proposed rule.

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) proposes to streamline its regulations on transferring offenders to foreign countries by eliminating language that constitutes agency guidance to staff. Guidance language will be retained in the relevant Bureau policy.

The Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) published a final rule in the Federal Register on November 21, 2013, which added a new section to the Department's Privacy Act exemption regulations to exempt two OCDETF systems of records from certain subsections of the Privacy Act. The final text of the rule incorrectly referred to exempted “subsections” of the Privacy Act as “paragraphs” of the new section. This document corrects the final rule by revising the new section.

This rule will be effective December 5, 2013. Written comments must be postmarked and electronic comments must be submitted on or before February 3, 2014. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before that date. The electronic Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) will accept comments until Midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.

28 CFR Part 571

Summary

The Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) changes its regulations on compassionate release, to provide that when considering an inmate for reduction in sentence, the General Counsel will solicit the opinion of the United States Attorney in the district in which the inmate was sentenced; and the final decision is subject to the general supervision and direction of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.

The Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) amends its Privacy Act regulations for two Privacy Act systems of records previously entitled the “Drug Enforcement Task Force Evaluation and Reporting System,” JUSTICE/DAG-003, and the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center System,” JUSTICE/CRM-028. These amendments reflect a recent reorganization of the Department establishing the Executive Office for OCDETF as a separate DOJ component, and transferring responsibility for these systems from the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) and the Criminal Division to this component. In light of this departmental reorganization, JUSTICE/DAG-003 has been renumbered to JUSTICE/OCDETF-001 and renamed as the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Management Information System (OCDETF MIS),” and JUSTICE/CRM-028 has been renumbered to JUSTICE/OCDETF-002 while retaining the same name. When under the responsibility of ODAG and the Criminal Division, these systems were exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 by exemptions placed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections containing exemptions for ODAG's and the Criminal Division's Privacy Act systems. These amendments remove references to these systems from the CFR sections for ODAG and Criminal Division exemptions and add a new section for OCDETF exemptions, which continues comparable exemptions for these systems in order to avoid interference with the law enforcement functions and responsibilities of the Executive office for OCDETF.

This rule revises the United States Marshals Service fees to reflect current costs to the United States Marshals Service for service of process in federal court proceedings. A proposed rule with invitation to comment was published in the Federal Register on April 12,2013, at 78 FR 21862. Only one comment was received within the 60-day comment period and that comment supported adoption of the rule. Accordingly, the proposed rule is finalized without change.

Chapter 154 of title 28, United States Code, provides special procedures for Federal habeas corpus review of cases brought by indigent prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. These special procedures are available to States that the Attorney General has certified as having established mechanisms for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State postconviction proceedings brought by such prisoners, and as providing standards of competency for the appointment of counsel in these proceedings. This rule sets forth the regulations for the certification procedure.

The Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) proposes to amend its Privacy Act regulations for two systems of records entitled the “Drug Enforcement Task Force Evaluation and Reporting System, JUSTICE/DAG-003,” last published, March 10, 1992 in the Federal Register , and the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Fusion Center and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center System, JUSTICE/CRM-028,” last published, June 3, 2009 in the Federal Register . These Privacy Act regulations are being amended to reflect a recent reorganization of the Department establishing the Executive Office for OCDETF as a separate DOJ component, and transferring responsibility for these systems from the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) and the Criminal Division to this component. In light of this departmental reorganization, JUSTICE/DAG-003 is being renumbered to JUSTICE/OCDETF-001 and will be renamed as the “Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Management Information System (OCDETF MIS).” JUSTICE/CRM-028 is being renumbered to JUSTICE/OCDETF-002 but will retain its system name. When under the responsibility of ODAG and the Criminal Division, these systems were exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 by exemptions placed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections containing exemptions for ODAG's and the Criminal Division's Privacy Act systems. These proposed amendments will remove references to these systems from the CFR sections for ODAG and Criminal Division exemptions and add a new section for OCDETF exemptions. Public comment is invited.

Comments must be received by no later than 11:59 p.m., E.T., on October 28, 2013.

28 CFR Part 94

Summary

The Office for Victims of Crime (“OVC”) of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (“OJP”), proposes this rule to implement the victim assistance formula grant program (“Victim Assistance Program”) authorized by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (“VOCA”). Generally speaking, this law authorizes OVC to provide an annual grant from the Crime Victims Fund to each State and eligible territory for the financial support of services to victims of crime by eligible crime victim assistance programs. The proposed rule would codify and update the existing VOCA Victim Assistance Program Guidelines (“Guidelines”) to reflect changes in OVC policy, needs of the crime victims services field, and VOCA itself.

This rule removes the regulations for the STOP Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grant Program, because the Program no longer exists, and the Grants to Combat Violent Crimes Against Women on Campuses Program, because the regulations are no longer required and are unnecessary.